If I Was Your Man
by LiveLaughGlee
Summary: The odd man out is always the one left wishing things were different, always wondering how things would have been if she had picked him. Follow both Jake and Ryder through the difficult times of watching Marley love the other. RYLEY AND JARLEY fic. T for eating disorder and occasional language.
1. Chapter 1

**So since school has ended, I've been spending all my free time on Tumblr (which is basically every second), and I've come to realize that Ryley lovers and Jarley lovers fight all the time. So I decided to tell a Ryley story from the POV of Jake at the same time I tell a Jarley story from the POV of Ryder in the same story… if that makes any sense. **

**X X X**

Ryder Lynn was never the type of guy who considered himself jealous. What was his was his, and what wasn't just wasn't. He preferred to look that the things he _did_ have instead of those he didn't, until one day he saw Marley and Jake striding down the hallway hand in hand. Had it not been for his appointment it would have been him with Marley. But she appeared to have moved on quickly so why couldn't he?

Maybe it was the fact that Ryder had put a tremendous amount of effort into making sure Marley was alright, that she was safe and out of harm's way. Then she just chooses Jake, the guy who is known as a heart breaker? It didn't make sense to him, but maybe that was just his dyslexia talking.

Grudgingly, Ryder placed his history text book on his desk and threw himself onto the seat, not once turning back to look at Marley. So much for thinking she was an understanding, caring person. It literally took her two seconds to find another date for Friday. Was he really _that_ replaceable? You'd think that after everything he did for her that night, comforting her included, she would have had some stronger emotional attachment to him than this.

"Hey Ryder." She greeted as she tapped him on the shoulder. Ryder turned and smiled at her before refocusing his attention on the board. He couldn't be sure, but he felt his smile came out as more of a grimace. But isn't that what she deserved? Let's not forget the fact that she didn't even let him know that she was going out with Puckerman Jr. He had to find out this morning from Kitty, who he wasn't even sure if he could trust. Why the hell did she know before he did?

Marley tapped his back again and Ryder was forced to push his thoughts to the side and turn to face her. "Are you," She took a breath and licked her lips as Ryder tried to figure out where she was going with this. He wanted to turn around and rest his head on the desk but with her behind him, she was proving that'd be impossible. "mad at me?" She finally finished with a sad expression on her face that made Ryder want to punch himself.

He sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. "No, Marley. I'm not mad at you."

Although he was extremely pissed off, he couldn't help but lie to protect her. She was fragile and insecure. It'd absolutely devastate him if he found out he was part of the reason. Apart from that, though, was the fact he was more pissed at himself than he was with her. If he hadn't have been born so stupid, and embarrassingly slow, he'd never have had to go to that stupid doctor's appointment. Sure, it was beyond his control but it seemed the majority of his life was so far out of his reach anyway.

"Good because I'd like to have you as a friend." She smiled as Mr. Schue walked into the class and called for the kids' attention.

She hadn't meant it to come out vindictively, but in Ryder's mind she was just saying that to make him even more upset than he had been this morning. Why had he ever been attracted to her? She was just as much of a bitch as Kitty, though she was better at hiding it. At least with Kitty you knew what you were getting.

"Hey Mr. Schu?" She asked and Ryder could hear her shirt ruffle as she raised her hand. He wanted to roll his eyes but her sweet voice was making it impossible. Instead, he turned around and saw her hopeful eyes looking up at their teacher. "May I go to the bathroom?"

As she left the room, Ryder was unfortunately confronted with every reason he ever had as to why he liked her so much. She was polite and thoughtful, not to mention smart and funny. To call her gorgeous would be an understatement, but she was gorgeous nonetheless. She had a bubbly personality that made him stop in his tracks. Her smile was beautiful and her laugh was even better.

Need he go on?

Grumpily, he turned back to the front of the room and rested his head in his hands with a scowl. There was just no getting over Marley Rose, no matter how hard he tried.

**X X X **

**So next chapter is going to focus on Jake's thoughts through a Ryley relationship. Switching the relationships up between chapters gives me the opportunity to allow character growth for both Jake and Ryder, while also villainizing them. These chapters are going to be pretty short, though. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Now, this part is going to be italicized because it's an alternate universe in which Jake is the guy Marley overlooked. **

**X X X **

_They made him sick with their short banter back and forth. 'No you hang up. No _you_ hang up.' It was getting to the point where he was about to snatch the phone from her and hang up for her. Truly, he wanted to barf but he kept his lunch in and continued to watch the television in front of him. It was their 'date', or really their 'unromantic get-together'. _

_When she asked him this morning what he was doing tonight he had been hopeful that they were going to get to know each other and connect, but it appeared she was too wrapped up in Ryder's conversation to even acknowledge that he was sitting next to her. Wasn't he at some kind of appointment? _

_Jake couldn't even hate the guy because Ryder wasn't a bad guy. He had been there for Marley and it was totally understandable as to why Marley would have feelings for him. Jake just wished that in some alternate universe the girl didn't always end up with the star football player, that she could look past him and see a guy like Jake ready to give her the best relationship she'd ever seen. _

_But they weren't in another universe. They were in present time in Lima, Ohio sitting on her couch watching 'I love Lucy'. There were chips on the table and some sodas in the fridge that Mr. Rose had offered Jake earlier. He had declined thinking that his lips would have been doing something else, but that turned out to be out of the question. _

"_Alright. Tell me how the appointment goes." Marley said into the receiver and Jake sat up knowing the conversation was coming to a close. She giggled at something the other boy said before she hung up and put her phone in her pocket. "He's so nice." _

_Jake coughed and scrunched his face as he turned back towards the television. He'd rather have her talking to Ryder on the phone and ignoring him than have to hear her talk _about _Ryder. "The nicest." He concluded sarcastically, shaking his head as he grabbed his phone from the table. He had only been here for 30 minutes. How was that even possible?_

"_Did you know that Albert Einstein had dyslexia?" She asked as she reached into the bowl of chips and grabbed a handful. Jake rolled his eyes and turned to look at her with a fake smile on his face. He shook his head to humor her as he racked his brain for some excuse to get out of here. If he got out quick, he may still be able to make plans to hang out with Kitty instead. "Who knows? Maybe Ryder will do something that Einstein did!" _

"_I highly doubt it." Jake mumbled, not because he was trying to be mean, but because he knew Ryder and Ryder wasn't a desk-job type of person. Ryder wanted out of Lima, even if it meant he'd have to leave the gorgeous girl he had in front of him behind. Jake was positive he'd never leave Marley if she just gave him the chance to prove it to her. _

_Marley pursed her lips before biting her lip. "Well I think it's possible." _

_Jake coughed and scratching his head as he faked a yawn. "Well, Marley, I think it's time for me to leave." _

"_You just got here though…" She noted as she looked down at her phone to check the time. He had told her that he'd stay for longer so that they could play some singing game on the tv, but he was tired of listening to her talk about _him.

"_Yeah, I know. I'm just tired is all." He said as she stood up and tried to leave before she could get up to hug him goodbye. He couldn't handle that. "It's been… uh, fun." _

_He shut the front door behind him and jogged to his car, throwing himself into the seat and turning to ignition. One thing he vowed never to do again? Hang out with Marley while she was still with Ryder. Listening to her talk about everything that made Ryder better than him got old fast. _

_He would never put himself through that again. Ever. _

**X X X **

**So there is some Ryley/Jarley for you. These are going to be two entirely separate story lines, with two different endings. Keep that in mind. :) **

**Thanks for reading. I love you all to death. **


	3. Chapter 3

It sickened Ryder how much he hated Jake Puckerman, the best friend he'd always wanted but never really had until now. But he couldn't stop wishing that something would happen, that Jake would fuck up like he always managed to do. It was selfish and Ryder couldn't help but hate himself as well, but every time he saw Marley smile as a result of what _Jake_ had said or what _Jake_ had done, he wanted to vomit.

"So do you think that's a good idea?" Jake asked after elaborating on a plan he had concocted all by himself. "I mean, I'd have to ask the art teacher and all but I think it'd be fine as long as I cleaned up. You think she'll like it?"

It pained Ryder to think that even though Jake wasn't a very romantic guy he had come up with a pretty romantic way to prove his love to Marley. You could even argue that Jake had come up with a better plan than Ryder had with his Valentine Week surprises.

Ryder coughed and nodded his head as he continued to pretend to focus on lifting weights. It felt like he was lifting 1,000 pounds, but really he was only lifting about 70. He needed to focus but Jake was making that impossible. You'd think that after everything Jake would at least _know_ that talking about Marley wasn't something he could do with him. "No, no. It sounds cool."

Jake sighed and looked down. "Just cool?"

"No, it sounds amazing." Ryder offered after hearing Jake's disappointed tone. And he wasn't lying, which made him even more upset. "She'll love it."

His tone was dry but he ignored Jake's nervous glance as he sat up from his bench. Breathing deeply, he reached over and poured half of his bottle of water in his mouth. "Look man, it'll be awesome and it'll earn you some points. I have to go, though. Dinner with my mom."

"I thought she was-." Jake tried to say, but Ryder cut him off with the slamming of the locker room door. Jake didn't deserve Ryder's hatred- Ryder deserved Ryder's hatred. But still, Ryder justified it by repeating the word 'Puckerman' in his head. It was a Puckerman's reputation to take a girl for all she was and drain every ounce of good that was in her being until she was nothing.

He didn't want that to happen to Marley. If he had anything to say about it, it wouldn't. The problem was, though, that she had _chosen_ her fate. She chose a life of never knowing if her boy was faithful to her even though she had Ryder right in front of her. If he couldn't help her by making her choose him, he'd have to help her by helping Jake.

And if by some chance Jake broke her heart, well then that's when Ryder would sweep her off her feet.

"Hey Ry!" Marley greeted as she approached his locker. He turned to see her holding her books close to her chest as if to protect them for dear life. She looked around before a smile found its way to her face. "Where's Jake?"

He scrunched his eyebrows and pulled his backpack out of his locker and stuffed some of his books into it. As he threw it over his shoulder, he licked his lips. "In the locker room. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering." She shrugged, taking the time to lean against the locker next to his. He wasn't entirely sure why she was hanging around him right now. Jake was almost out. Maybe she was just trying to pass the time talking to Ryder. "So do you want to do something tomorrow night?"

Ryder scratched his head as he scratched the back of his head. "You're not going to ditch me for Jake this time?" He asked, almost bitterly. She seemed surprised by his tone before her face softened and a sigh was emitted from her lips.

"I thought you were over that." She mumbled, looking down at her feet. The sad and disappointed look on her face made Ryder regret saying anything in the first place. He reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it." He responded as he licked his lips. "I have football practice until 4 and then tutoring at 6."

Her smile returned and she licked her lips. "What if we get coffee after football? I'll pay."

"Your drive a hard bargain, Miss Rose." Ryder joked as he began walking down the hallway towards the doors. He was surprised when she continued walking with him.

"So is that a yes?" She asked just as Jake walked out of the locker room. His smile grew as he approached them.

"How could I say no to an offer like that?" He asked, nodding his head at Jake. "I'll see you guys later."

He could hear Jake mumbling something into Marley's ear, but he didn't turn around. He knew what he had to do now. Instead of spending his time breaking the two up, he'd just make sure that Jake was the best boyfriend in the entire world.

That's what he'd do and Marley would love it.

**X X X **

**Each story line is going to have plenty of Ryley AND Jarley. It's harder for me to write for Jarley, though, because I am a Ryley fan… BUT I'm going to do my best and the next chapter will have a really big turning point in the Jarley relationship, although it may not appear that way. It's going to be hard but I got this. **

**Jarley fans: Don't give up on me yet. I promise it'll get better for Jake and Marley. I already have some endings and plot twists planned out just for you guys. **

**Ryley fans: Don't get used to seeing a lot of Ryley. Sorry but it's a double story line fic and there are Jarley fans reading. **


	4. Chapter 4

"_Will you just hold my books?" Kitty snapped, shoving her books into his arms. He quickly grabbed hold of them so they wouldn't fall, but he did so with a glare on his face. She was honestly joking, wasn't she? "As my boyfriend, it is your job to hold my stuff when I want you to." _

_He sighed but continued his journey to his locker, passing by a few of the Glee kids he had gotten to know by performing in 'Grease'. Some of them waved and others gave him a quick head nod, but he ignored them all. They weren't his friends; they were just some kids who thought singing was 'cool'. Jake knew otherwise, though. They didn't accept him. He was different and always would be. _

"_Hey Jake." Artie greeted as he rolled up to him and Kitty. His girlfriend scoffed and kept walking but Jake stopped and looked over at the boy who had been in charge of directing him. "You coming to Glee club today?" _

_Jake shook his head. "Nah, man. The play was fun but I don't really think Glee is the place for me, you know?" _

"_You have a really great voice." Jake furrowed his eyebrows. Artie was just trying to be a nice guy, but something about his tone indicated that he was lecturing Jake. "Don't put that to waste just because someone else ended up with your girl." _

"_You don't know anything about me." Jake yelled, kicking Artie back with a firm kick. People in the hallway stopped talking as they became focused on the drama Jake had just created. "Get your nose out of my business." _

_To make matters worse, Ryder jogged up right then and pushed Jake away from the boy in the wheelchair, who looked a little panicked. Jake's stomach dropped when he once again realized he had freaked out unnecessarily. "What the fuck is your problem?" Ryder asked, pushing Jake back. _

_Jake gave up and looked down at his shoes. Truth be told, he hadn't meant to hurt Artie or make him feel uncomfortable. He liked Artie. Never once had Artie made Jake feel like he was any less than anyone else. In fact, Artie had been there for Jake backstage when he was freaking out about messing up and then kept his mouth shut afterwards. He hated the times when he wasn't in control. He hated hurting people. _

"_Huh?" Ryder urged, pushing Jake backwards once more. A larger crowd was forming and Jake felt them all judging him, but he remained still, allowing Ryder to push him. He deserved it after all. "You think you can just push people around?" _

_Jake chuckled dryly and shook his head. "That's a little ironic coming from you, don't you think?" _

_Ryder licked his lips and shook his head distastefully. "Go back to being a low life, Puckerman."_

_Jake turned and walked away, fighting the urge to scream and hit Ryder in the face. That'd only make matters worse and he wasn't even really mad at him. He could hear Artie thanking Ryder for his defense and he could hear the cheerleaders and other girls complaining about how out of line Jake was. _

"_You do realize homecoming is coming up, right?" Kitty asked, slamming Jake's locker door shut. "We need to be elected queen and king and you beating up cripples and the football star, isn't helping." _

"_We're running for king and queen?" _

"_Duh." Kitty replied before she grabbed her stuff and headed off to class. Jake sighed and ran a hand over his head. _

"_What was that about?" Marley asked as she approached Jake's locker with Unique by her side. _

_Jake turned and gave both of them a once-over. He didn't have to turn around to know Ryder was standing at his own locker glaring at the bunch. "Apparently I'm in the running for homecoming king." _

_As he reached into his locker to grab his history book, he heard Marley giggle. "Isn't that for couples who just like seeing their faces plastered all over the place?" _

_Jake laughed and shut his locker. "Yeah I know it's stupid but Kitty really wants to run so..." As he trailed off, he noticed Marley scrunch her eyebrows. _

"_You're dating her now?" She asked, licking her lips. _

_He heard someone cough behind him and he turned to see Ryder walking over to them with a guy named Sam Evans at his side. Running a hand over his head, Jake nodded. "Yeah. So I'll see you later?" _

"_Oh, um… yeah." She answered, even though it had been in vain because he was already halfway down the hallway, thinking about how he'd handle seeing his face hanging on the walls of McKinley High School. _

**X X X **

**I don't know about you, but when I was watching the first few episodes of season four, I was instantly drawn to Jake because he seemed to be a problem child. But then Jake got with Marley and the story line dropped so I kind of lost interest in his character development because there was none. Jarley fans justify it by saying that Marley changed him for the better, which I guess is true. I just thought that since in this story line Ryley is canon, that I'd explore it some more and maybe connect Jake and Marley and Ryder that way. **

**Please tell me what you think and in no way was I trying to say Jake is boring now, even though it may have come off that way. Jake is one of my favorite characters. :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Ryder put his cup of hot chocolate down and stared at the brunette beauty in front of him. Actually, now that he thought of it, beauty wasn't an appropriate adjective. Stunning or majestic seemed more fitting, but he pushed the thought to the side as he took another sip.

"How's tutoring going?" Marley decided to break the silence. Ryder licked his lips and sighed. The subject of his dyslexia was a sour one, especially when thinking about Marley as well given that his dyslexia was to blame for their current friendly relationship. "I mean, from what I've heard from Jake you're doing a lot better."

The thought of Jake and Marley talking about him was unnerving. It just meant that they were close enough as a couple to talk about their friends who were too stupid to be in other relationships. He had turned into a third wheel. "Oh, you know, it's going…" He answered lamely, forcing some more hot chocolate down his throat to hide his embarrassment.

"Do you think you guys are going to make it to state this year?" Marley asked after nodding her head. Ryder was thankful for the distraction from his school work but talking about football wasn't much better.

"I doubt it." He replied with a slight chuckle. "Our losing record isn't exactly what you'd call impressive."

She sighed and nodded her head before looking around. As if something suddenly popped into her head, she straightened up and coughed as if demanding his attention. "Is this weird? Are we never going to be able to be friends again?"

Ryder stiffened and tried his best to look as confused as possible. He figured that she could tell he was pretty uncomfortable with this meeting, but he was still hoping she'd overlook it, or at least ignore it. He coughed awkwardly and tilted his head to the side for effect. Artie taught him a lot during Grease and one of the most important lessons was gestures. "I thought we were being friends…?"

"You're just saying that so I don't feel bad." She mumbled, her eyes somewhat glazing over as she began to rant about something he could hardly pay attention to. "You still like me and me making you hang out with me isn't helping. You can't be a ad friend and go around Jake like we may want so you're just going to…"

Ryder's eyes shot up and he forced himself to interrupt. "We?"

"Did-did I say we? I meant you." Marley covered up and he could tell she was annoyed with herself. Finally sighing, she put her hand to her forehead. "Look, if this is too hard for you or just completely weird, I understand."

Ryder chuckled and shook his head. "Marls, calm down. You and I? We're just friends. Sure, I had a crush on you at the beginning of the year, but that was it. Seriously, we're fine."

He hated lying. The words tasted like vinegar as they left his mouth. But he forced them out so she could be happy. Not only did she need Jake to be a good boyfriend, but she needed Ryder to be her friend. Plus, Ryder wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to leave her behind as a friend either so it worked out for the best.

"So, do you understand the French Revolution?" Ryder asked after a couple seconds of silence had passed. He watched as Marley bit her lip and nodded her head with her eyebrows scrunched. "Do you think you could help me with it? Maybe tomorrow during free period?"

"Actually, I have a meeting with Jake." She admitted as she shrugged her shoulders. "But I can ask if maybe we can just do it some other time?"

Ryder's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, no. Don't do that. You'll regret it. Trust me."

A smirk grew on Marley's face and Ryder couldn't help but smile in response. She always had that effect on him. "Do you know something I don't?"

Ryder chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not going to confirm or deny that allegation."

"Allegation?" Marley asked with a smirk on her face as she raised her eyebrows. "Impressive vocabulary, Lynn."

"I'm not just looks." Ryder joked as he got up to throw his cup away. "C'mon. I'll drive you home."

Worrying about what Marley thought of him in relation to Jake seemed so stupid now. Ryder just needed to take a step back and let Marley go all along. Now that he knew what he had to do, it was easy to see how much time he'd wasted pining after her.

He felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

**X X X **

**Sorry for not updating right away. I have no excuse. Next update on Wednesday? I think. I'm not really entirely sure. **


End file.
